SCOTUS Eyed for Relief in AZ ‘Dreamer’ Case

(CN) – After the 9th Circuit rammed her for denying driver’s licenses to certain young immigrants, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has demanded a stay while she appeals. Brewer’s illegal law, issued via executive order, came on the heels of the 2012 “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA), a federal program that deferred immigration-related actions against certain young adults under 31 who were brought to the country as children and have lived here continuously, gone to school and not committed any crimes. The governor’s directive forbade Arizona agencies from giving DACA recipients any “state identification, including a driver’s license.” Though U.S. District Judge David Campbell initially refused to enjoin Brewer’s order, a three-judge panel with the 9th Circuit reversed in July and the appellate court denied en banc review in the case last week. With appellate court’s ruling set go into effect today, Brewer moved to stay the 9th Circuit’s mandate on Friday, signaling that she would take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona’s certiorari petition will raise “basic and important issues concerning the Equal Protection Clause, the Supremacy Clause and federal immigration law,” Brewer’s motion states. “Specifically, the petition will raise questions regarding the proper application of the rational basis standard under the Equal Protection Clause, the existence of a ‘heightened’ rational basis review standard, and the preemptive force of informal federal agency actions.” Brewer also claims that the recent executive action on immigration by the Obama administration “underscores the fact such policies, which are not law, are easily revised and changed.” “Issuing driver’s licenses to deferred action recipients before this issue is reviewed by the Supreme Court is imprudent, given the changeable nature of DHS policy, prior to congressional action,” the petition states.